TeXt Pr0ducTi0N #2

What are the potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change and how they can be arrested?

It is not unusual to hear someone complaining about a hot day or a freak storm. Most would say that global warming is the bane of all this misery. But, do people really aware about this? Global warming can be defined as gradual rising of the Earth's temperature due to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The changes are small, so far, but they are expected to grow and speed up. Within the next fifty to one hundred years, the earth may be hotter than it has been in the past million years. After years of scientific wrangling over the existence of global warming, experts are now in agreement that the problem presents a major risk for the future of our planet and point out several ways to tackle the problem.

One of the potential effects of global warming is it alter the weather patterns. Increase in atmosphere temperature will also increase the ocean temperature. In the film The Inconvenient Truth (2007), Al Gore, the main speaker, said that when ocean gets warmer, it causes a stronger storm as when water temperature increases, wind’s velocity and moisture content of the storm also increases. Case happens during the formation of hurricane Katrina, the one which hits New Orleans. Other phenomena that might happens is when the temperature increases, evaporation of the ocean will amass all the moisture up in the atmosphere and when the storm conditions trigger them out, more water will fall down as rain which means more intense rain events. In a long run, it will absorb moisture out of the soil and as soil evaporation increases dramatically, it brings more intense droughts.

Besides that, owing to global warming, it brings disturbance to the ecosystems. As the temperature increases, it lengthens the growing season. And, sometimes the temperature increases beyond the tolerance of plant or animal. Global warming will also modify the plants that can thrive in the Arctic. Around 50 percent of breeding habitats for some birds may disappear, threatening the species that depend on them (Woodford 2006). Also, the plants need to find more water to keep growing or else they will become extinct. The tropics are being affected too, for example, parts of coral reefs are in jeopardy because of warming of the oceans, and consequently perish other species that depend on them. Some predictions say climate change could make 30-40 percent of the world's species extinct (Woodford 2006).

Nonetheless, global warming can be controlled and rectified if we start now. First of all, we must reduce the emission of carbon dioxide gas. This can be done by using efficient electrical appliances, using public transport or practicing carpooling and if you can, buy hybrid car. Government can also help to solve this environmental issue by supporting the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aimed at fighting global warming. However, it is not an easy thing to do since reducing the emission of carbon dioxide will also means that they need to sacrifice some of the current technology and thus, greatly affect the country’s economic growth. But, now, most of the advanced nation in the whole world has taken the initiatives to ratified Kyoto as they realise that saving the earth should be their first priority for the sake of future generation.

The bottom line is that the phenomenon of global warming is getting atrocious all the time. The ecosystem is being affected. Erratic weather patterns will be such a disaster and we have to be prepared for the impending catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina. We are all in a heap of trouble and the sooner we accept this facts the better. We should put serious effort to overcome the problems. Reducing the carbon emissions and government ratified the Kyoto Protocol are such a good steps to save our mother earth. Our earth is not the same place anymore compared to decades ago, it is now slowly dying and this is a very serious issue that all of us should pay attention to. So, we must stand up, no more procrastination and starts to fight for our kids’ better world. Well, are you ready to change the way you live?

Teachers warned against accepting students as Facebook friends

ONLINE CAUTION: Muirden Senior College student Eliza, left, with English teacher lauren Fisher. Picture: CHRIS MANGAN Source: The Advertiser

STUDENTS are trying to add their teachers as Facebook friends in what experts say is an extension of the way they show their admiration for those in charge of the state's classrooms.

But SA Primary Principals Association president Steve Portlock warned teachers against accepting the innocent request, most likely to come from upper primary school and lower secondary students.

"It's a bit of continuation of what we've always seen, like being invited by your students to birthday parties. While it's a nice thought teachers need to be really careful about accepting offers," he said.

"The best thing is just to gracefully decline any friend requests as you would anything else."

Several teachers told The Advertiser they are bombarded with Facebook friend requests from admiring students and some have slightly altered the name that appears on their online profile so students have more difficulty searching for them.

Deakin University communications and social media lecturer Ross Monaghan said that while sites such as Facebook had minimal educational benefits, others were more useful.

Muirden Senior College is one of a growing number of schools using the Wikispaces social networking website so the school's Year 11 and 12 students can interact with teachers after hours.

Principal Barbara Harding said the site allowed teachers to post links and share resources with students, as well as respond to any school-related questions they had from home "almost instantly".

"Where it really comes in handy is if you've got a student at home who suddenly comes up with a great idea for an assignment, a question about an essay, they can ask that and get a very quick response," she said.

An Education Department spokeswoman said a cyber-safety policy was launched last year, outlining the need for teachers to ensure their online identities, including Facebook profiles, met the responsibilities of various industry codes of conduct.

Guidelines also ensure teachers keep within expected professional boundaries when dealing with students - letters, emails and text messages of a personal nature are considered as violations.

The spokeswoman said "teachers and students can . . . share ideas and learning outside school hours through online education forums".

M Y C O M M E N T S :

Interactive learning is such a good way to learn especially with the current advance technologies. Young generation tend to be more attracted to the uses advance equipment to study rather than normal teaching method in class. In this case, Facebook had been widely used by all generation as a way to communicate. Adding teachers as friends might lose some respect to them because we will treat them like our other friends despite the fact that they are our teacher. But, I think it is good in such a way that the students will be more comfortable to ask question or sharing their problems in terms of education.

TeXt Pr0ducTi0N #1

What are the potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change and how they can be arrested?

It is not unusual to hear someone complaining about a hot day or a freak storm. Most would say that global warming is the bane of all this miseries. But, does people really aware about this? Global warming can be defined as gradual rising of the Earth's temperature due to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The changes are small, so far, but they are expected to grow and speed up. Within the next fifty to one hundred years, the earth may be hotter than it has been in the past million years. Several researches had shown that the problem is getting atrocious all the time but there are still ways to combat this.

One of the potential effects of global warming is it alter the weather patterns. Increasing in atmosphere temperature will also increase the ocean temperature. In the film The Inconvenient Truth (2007), Al Gore, the main speaker, explained that when ocean gets warmer, it causes a stronger storm as when water temperature increases, wind’s velocity and moisture content of the storm also increases. Case happens during the formation of hurricane Katrina, the one which hits New Orleans. Other phenomena that might happens is when the temperature increases, evaporation of the ocean will amass all the moisture up in the atmosphere and when the storm conditions trigger them out, more water will fall down as rain which means more intense rain events. Longer, it will absorb moisture out of the soil and as soil evaporation increases dramatically, it brings more intense droughts.

Besides that, owing to global warming, it causes disturbance to the ecosystems. As the temperature increases, it lengthens the growing season. And, sometimes the temperature increases beyond the tolerance of plant or animal. Global warming will also modify the plants that can thrive in the Arctic. Around 50 percent of breeding habitats for some birds may disappear, threatening the species that depend on them (Chris Woodford 2006). Also, the plants need to find more water to keep growing or else they will become extinct. The tropics are being affected too, for example, parts of coral reefs are in jeopardy because of warming of the oceans, and consequently perish other species that depend on them. Some predictions say climate change could make 30-40 percent of the world's species extinct (Chris Woodford 2006).

Nonetheless, global warming can be controlled and rectified if we start now. First of all, we must reduce the emission of carbon dioxide gas. This can be done by using efficient electrical appliances, using public transport or practicing carpooling and if you can, buy hybrid car. In addition, to redress global warming, governments also need to take a big step forward so that their people will follow. However, it is not an easy thing to do since reducing the emission of carbon dioxide will also means that they need to sacrifice some of the current technology and thus, greatly affect the country’s economic growth. Supporting the Kyoto Protocol will be such a big decision for the government. But, now, most of the advanced nation in the whole world had taking the initiatives to ratified Kyoto as they realise that saving the earth should be their first priority for the sake of future generation.

As a person who cares so much about his mother earth, we should spread this informations over. And, also do not forget to put our knowledge into action (Al Gore 2006). More and more problems that are happening around us are mainly because of global warming. Our earth is not the same place anymore compared to decades ago, it is now slowly dying and this is a very serious issue that all of us should pay attention to. It is a fact that we do not want a horrible kind of future of which our next generations are going to live their life. So, we must stand up, no more procrastination and starts to fight for our kids’ better world. Well, are you ready to change to way you live?

Blair Retallick, 8, hit by car in Townsville while fleeing bully

Parents had reported bullying
"Nothing had been done"
Fractured skull, lacerated liver

A YOUNG boy has suffered terrible injuries while fleeing a bully who threatened to kill him and his school did nothing to prevent it, his mother says. Eight-year-old Blair Retallick is in intensive care after fleeing a tormentor on a school bus and running into the path of a four-wheel drive outside a Townsville school on Monday. Patricia Retallick said her son was the target of a long-running campaign by school bullies and had been kicked, spat on, bitten, punched and verbally abused. But nothing was done despite her many complaints to Bohlevale State School and the bus company, she said. Blair remains in the Townsville Hospital with injuries including a fractured skull, a bruise to his brain, and a lacerated liver.

Mrs Retallick said Blair and her other children, including a daughter aged five, had been targeted by bullies on the school bus for some time. She said her approaches to the school achieved nothing, nor did her complaints to the bus company running the school service. "He was having an altercation with a child on the bus and it flowed out as the bus stopped," she told the ABC. "He was running as the boy was saying to him 'I'm going to kill you' and he ran straight into the path of a car as he was running away from the boy."

She said witnesses, including other children on the bus, had reported the tormentor's kill threat, and said kids from other families had also been bullied on the bus but nothing had been done. "It shouldn't have happened. It should have been dealt with," Mrs Retallick said. "The majority of families on that bus have had issues with those kids on that bus." Mrs Retallick said she raised the bullying issue with the school as recently as Monday morning, just before her son was injured. The incident comes just a week after the Queensland Government said it would create a new alliance to tackle violence in schools.

The announcement came after a government report found schools were not properly checking if their anti-bullying programs were working. In a statement, Education Queensland's North Queensland region director Mike Ludwig said it was premature to speculate on the cause of the accident.

Counselling had been offered to the family, he said. Mrs Retallick said she wanted action, including better systems to report bullying. "There needs to be changes with the education department on how we can report these things," she said. She said Blair could be in hospital for up to a month. "It's unknown at the moment. Some of his injuries are so extensive that anything could happen and it could change in the blink of an eye," she said. Monday was supposed to have been the last day her children caught the bus to school. The family was planning to move to New South Wales and the ongoing bullying had been a factor in the decision to move, Mrs Retallick said.

C O M M E N T S :

I would like to point out that bullying is a serious case which needs to be taken care of fast. People who was been bullied could suffered much worse that we can imagine. It might affect their whole life in the sense of mental health problems such as low self-esteem, stress, depression and anxiety. They may also think about suicide. Yet because older people don’t always see it, they may not understand on how extreme bullying can get.
In the case here, the school should play a big role as it happened during their services – in the school bus. They take no serious into this situation and clearly we can see that it cause a greater impact. The school should just confront the bullies and give them, maybe last warning or heavy punishment. It is unfortunate for the little boy who is trying to get away from the bullies but then being hit by a car.